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WYOMING 


AS     AN  - 


ADDRESS    ON    THE- 


RECLAMATION  OF  THE  ARID  LANDS 


BKFOltE  THE 


CHEYENNE  CHAMBER   OF  COMMERCE.   JAN.   16,  1894, 


By   ELWOOD  MEAD,   State  Engineer. 


1MT.LIS1IKD    P.Y    THE    CHEYENNE    CHAMBER    OF    COMMERCE,    AN    ORGAN- 

I/.ATH  >\    TO    PROMOTE   THE    INTERESTS   OF   THE 

STATE   OF    WYOMING. 


CHKVKXNK  Wvo. 


1S94. 


WYOMING 


A8    AN 


-ADDRESS    ON    THE- 


RECLAMATION  OF  THE  ARID  LANDS 


BEFORE  THE 


CHEYENNE  CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE,   JAN.   16,  1894, 


By  ELWOOD  MEAD,   State  Engineer. 
n 


1MTH1.1SHKD   BY    THE   CHEYENNE   CHAMBER   OF   COMMERCE,   AN   ORGAN- 
IZATION   TO    PROMOTE   THE   INTERESTS   OF   THE 
STATE   OF    WYOMING. 


CHEYENNK  WYO. 

JOH    1'JiIN'l'. 

181)4. 


"WYOMIM AGRICULTURAL  STATE" 


-ADDRESS   ON   THE- 


RECLAMATION  T°HFE  ARID  LANDS 


BEFORE  THE 


CHEYENNE  CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE,   JAN.   16,  1894, 

By  ELWOOD  MEAD,   State  Engineer. 


Wyoming  as  an  Agricultural  State  is  an  anomaly;  an  anomaly  difficult 
of  comprehension  by  students  of  irrigation  from  the  outside  world  and  one 
which  the  friends  of  irrigation  within  the  State  find  hard  to  explain.  In 
this  I  am  speaking  more  particularly  of  the  agriculture  of  the  cultivated 
field  and  exclude  that  form  of  agriculture  which  is  more  intimately  asso- 
ciated with  what  is  known  as  the  range  industries.  I  do  this  because  it  is 
my  purpose  tonight  to  talk  of  what  we  need  rather  than  of  what  we  have. 

Naturally,  it  is  a  State  of  great  opportunities.  We  are  in  the  latitude 
belt  of  the  great  agricultural  states  of  this  country.  As  an  arid  State  we 
have  good.aeighbors.  '  Excluding  California,  Colorado,  Utah  and  Montana 
rank  first,  second  and  third  among  the  arid  states  in  the  value  of  their  farm 
produets.  The  State  is  favored^in  the  volume  and  availability  of  its  water 
supply.  Colorado,  Wyoming  and  Montana  provide  eighty-five  per  cent  of 
the  available  water  supply  of  the  entire  arid  region,  and  of  these  three,  Wyo- 
ming stsnds  first  or  second.  In  the  mileage  of  ditches  the  State  takes  high 
rank.  In  the  excellence  of  its  water  laws  and  the  ^administrative  system 
which  they  provide,  it  is  the  accepted  model  of  the  ^hole  arid  region. 
From  the  census  report  of  1890  down  to  the  last  irrigation  congress  there 
has  been  only  commendation  for  our  water  laws. 

Withjertile  soil  and  abundant  water  supply,  satisfactory  water  laws, 
the  example  and  encouragement  given  by  the  success  of  irrigation  in  neigh- 


472516 


boring  Stat?s,  i*  would  seem  as  though  we  had  an  adequate  foundation  for 
rapid  growth.  .Hut  for  various  causes  we  have  never  got  beyond  the- 
formation.  The  evidences  of  growth  are  largely  absent. 

AREA   OF   CULTIVATED   LAND. 

One  can  travel,  or  could  last  summer,  over  every  mile  of  operated  rail- 
way in  the  state,  a  distance  of  over  one  thousand  miles,  without  seeug  a 
field  of  wheat.  The  census  report  of  1890  says  Uhat  this  county,  with  its 
million  dollar  investment  in  irrigation  works,  managed  t/>  grow  thirty-nine 
acres  of  wheat.  Albany  county  grew  six  acres  and  Carbon  county  fifty-six 
acres.  The  three  most  populous  counties  combined  grew  one  hundred  and 
one  acres.  In  all  this  great  State  with  its  sixty-three  million  acres  of 
laud  only  19,000  acres  were  cultivated,  about  one  per  cent  of  the  land 
under  ditches.  In  the  light  of  facts  like  these  it  is  not  surprising  that 
our  agricultural  standing  is  Jow;  that  our  modest  exhibit  at  Chicago  sub- 
jected us  to  the  charge  of  having  had  to  go  out  of  the  State  to  procure  it. 
One  could  not  remain  m  that  exhibit  a  day  without  hearing  expressions  of 
surprise  and  amazed  conjecture  as  to  whereabouts  in  the  State  it  was 
produced. 

I  speak  of  this  becsuse  of  the  contrast  to  the  reception  accorded  the 
exhibits  of  adjoining  States.  While  Colorado's  magnificent  display  of  farm 
products  was  a  constant  subject  and  commendation  it  occasioned  no 
surprise  because  it  was  m  accrrd  with  popular  anticipation,  and  the  same- 
was  true  of  the  superb  collection  of  cereals  from  Montana,  but  when  the 
report  went  around  that  Wyoming  wheat  had  scored  the  highest  percentage 
of  any  in  the  building  there  was  a  general  agreement  that  the  £tate  was 
traveling  outside  its  class.  The  same  result  occurred  a  few  years  ago  when 
Wyoming  won  the  first  prize  in  a  national  potato  contest.  The  winner  of 
the  second  prize  demanded  an  investigation  and  wrote  to  the  journal  con- 
ducting the  (M)utcst  that  the  result  showed  fraud  on  its  face  because  any  one 
who  knew  anything  of  Wyoming  knew  it  had  no  farmers  and  no  farms. 

I  could  consume  all  the  time  that  1  sball  tax  your  patience  with  similar 
illustrations,  showing  that  our  actual  agricultural  production  is  small  and 
our  reputation  poor. 

I  think,  however,  that  enough  hrs  been  said  on  this  unpleasant  feature 
of  irrigation  development  in  this  State.  It  has  only  been  referred  to  as  a 
prelude  to  a  discussion  of  the  causes  for  this  condition  of  affairs.  Why  is 
it  that  with  equal  natural  advantage?,  with  as  ready  access  to  home  seekers, 
this  State  has  fallen  so  far  behind  its  neighbors  in  population  and  agricul- 
tural development?  Why  is  it  that  the  census  of  1890  shows  that  Colorado 
cultivated  under  irrigation,  two  hundred  and  sixty-tive  thousand  acres  [of 
laud,  Utah  one  hundred  and  fifteen  thousand  acres,  Montana  seventy-five 
thousand  acres,  while  Wyoming  dragged  along  at  the  tail  of  the  procession, 
with  only  nineteen  thousand  acres.  This  result  has  not  been  due  to 
superiori  y  in  natural  conditions.  It  has  been  due  in  part  to  lack  of  orgau*- 
ization  and  Jack  of  interest  in  securing  emigrants,  but  in  a  greater  part  to 
unfavorable  legislative  conditions,  which  have  stood  as  a  bar  to  success 
wherever  organization  and  effort  have  been  put  forth. 

Heforo  entering  upon  an  explanation  of  these  factors  I  wish  to  state 
that  the  reclamation  and  seitlemeut  of  an  arid  State  requires  agencies  and 
aids  not  required  in  the  settlement  of  states  Ime  Kansas  and  Nebraska. 


3 

There,  all  that  was  neces.  ary  was  to  find  an  unoccupied  quarter  section. 
The  emigrant  was  immediately  independent  and  self-supporting.  The  cul- 
tivation oi  his  farm  required  no  change  from  methods  with  which  he  was 
familiar. 

In  the  arid  region  the  locations  where  agriculture  can  be  practiced  at 
all  are  restricted,  and  the  places  where  ditches  can  be  built  at  an  outlay 
within  the  means  of  individual  settlers  extremely  limited.  The  methods  of 
agriculture  which  must  be  pursued  in  an  and  State  are  largely  different 
from  those  which  prevail  in  the  humid  region.  The  emigrant  has  to  serve 
an  apprenticeship  m  a  new  art,  and  knowing  this,  he  is  not  disposed  to 
venture  upon  it.  unless  it  is  under  conditions  which  offer  him  some  excep- 
tional encouragement  and  support.  The  rapid  and  successful  development 
of  arid  States  hr.s  required  two  things:  First,  the  location  and  construction 
of  irrigating  works,  in  order  that  settlers  may  at  once  begin  to  earn  a  liveli- 
hood, and,  second,  some  organized  agency  to  call  the  attention  of  intending 
immigrants  to  the  advantages  offered  and  to  assure  the  needed  assistance 
and  instruction  in  mastering  the  unfamiliar  art  of  irrigation.  Without 
going  into  all  the  details  of  the  influences  which  have  placed  adjacent 
States  so  far  aheful  of  us  in  this  work,  I  will  give  the  leading  forces  in  two. 

So  far  as  Utah  was  concerned,  the  rapid  extension  of  irrigation,  an  j  the 
prosperity  of  the  farmers  of  that  territory  has  been  largely  due  to  the  inter- 
est and  aid  of  the  Mormon  churcb.  It  provided  the  money  to  build  canals; 
the  emissaries  to  secure  colonists  to  occupy  the  laud  which  they  reclaimed 
and  exercised  an  iron-clad  control  over  emigrants,  in  restricting  them  to- 
email  holdings;  to  the  acreage  for  which  they  could  provide  water  and 
which  they  could  thoroughly  cultivate,  twenty  acres  being  the  accepted 
unit.  The  result  of  this  is  that  all  the  water  carried  in  the  ditches  thus 
built  is  used  and  all  the  land  under  them  cultivated. 

SETTLEMENT   OF   COLORADO. 

In  Colorado  the  first  impetus  to  settlement  was  partly  due  to  a  favoring- 
natural  condition,  but  largely  to  a  fortunate  legislative  accident.  The  fav- 
oring natural  condition  was  the  cheapness  with  which  ditches  could  be 
built  from  the  streams  leaving  the  mountains  north  of  Denver;  the  legisla- 
tive accident  was  the  including  of  these  lauds  within  the  limits  of  the 
Union  Pacific  land  grant.  The  Greeley  colony  was  located  on  these  lands 
because  of  the  opportunity  to  purchase  outright  the  railroad  lands  at  a 
nominal  price.  Ttiis  was  the  beginning  of  a  series*  of  colonization  enter- 
prises. The  railroad  Inud  was  purchased,  ditches  built  to  reclaim  it  and 
both  land  and  ditches  disposed  of  to  colonies  organized  in  the  East  by  the 
promoters  ef  these  enterprises.  Foreign  capital  became  interested  in  the 
the  work,  a  corporation  popubirlv  known  as  the  English  company  invested 
millions  of  dollars  ir  the  purchase  of  lauds,  the  construction  of  ditches  and 
in  efforts  at  colonization  in  this  region.  To  show  that  the  opportunity  to 
secure  control  of  the  railroad  lauds  was  the  moving  impetus  in  this  work  it 
may  be  stated  that,  while  this  section  of  the  State  was  gridironed  with 
ditches,  other  sections  of  the  State  with  equal  natural  advantages  and 
requiring  no  greater  outlay  in  their  reclamation  stood  still.  It  was  not 
until  the  State  had  control  of  the  donation  of  public  laud,  granted  to  the 
State  by  Congress  without  any  condition  as  to  the  terms  of  its  dis- 
posal, that  the  construction  of  ditches  became  universal  throughout  the 


State.  Under  the  operation  of  the  State  law  governing  the  disposal  of 
State  laads  irrigation  construction  made  wonderful  progress.  This  law 
provided  that  one-half  of  the  State  land  located  beneath  ditches  already 
built,  or  propsed  ditches,  could  be  disposed  of  to  the  ditch  company  at  a 
nominal  price  and  the  remaining  half  leased  to  the  company  for  a  period  of 
five  years  at  a  nominal  price.  There  was  no  difficulty  in  securing  capital 
under  these  conditions.  Possessing  one-half  the  lands,  ditch  companies  in 
constructing  canals,  were  very  largely  improving  their  own  property;  con- 
trolling the  other  half  they  were  able  to  colonize  it  with  actual  cultivators  of 
the  soil  and  users  of  water.  So  favorably  were  these  conditions  regarded 
that  the  agents  of  capital  overran  the  State  looking  for  ditch  locations  and 
petitioning  for  the  location  of  State  lands.  Cue  corporation  invested 
$4,000,000  in  irrigation  works  in  four  years.  Rapid  as  was  ditch  construc- 
tion the  progress  of  colonization  was  almost  as  gieat;  10,000  people  settling 
upon  the  farming  lands  of  San  Luis  valley  in  one  year.  la  my  judgment 
no  influence  has  t  outributee  so  greatly  to  Colorado's  growth  and  prosperity 
as  the  method  of  disposing  of  its  State  lauds.  Not  even  the  discovery  of 
8ilver  at  Letulviile  did  &o  much  to  increase  its  population. 

PROGRESS   OF   RECLAMATION   IX   WYOMING. 

During  all  this  per'od,  Wyoming  was  the  headquarters  of  the  range 
industries.  Oar  irrigation  system,  like  nearly  all  the  industries  of  this  State, 
had  its  origin  in  the  success  of  the  cattle  business.  Three-fourths  of  all 
our  hrigiitiou  works  we're  built  by  cattlemen  or  from  the  proceeds  of  the 
range  cattle  business.  The  ditches  were  not  built  to  furnish  homes  for 
farmers  but  MS  an  adjunct  to  this  business  or  a  convenient  means  ot  acquir- 
ing title  to  land.  Persons  iutere.  ted  in  the  range  industries  were  not  look- 
ing for  farmers.  Their  interest  lay  in  exactly  the  opposite  direction,  in 
keeping  the  country  as  the  Indian  left  it.  An  influx  of  farmers  meant  the 
closing  of  water  fiouts,  the  withdrawal  of  desirable  lauds,  the  sacrifices  of 
privileges  tkey  eujoved.  So  Jong  as  he  held  the  hot  end  of  the  poker  the 
stockman  was  uoi  locking  for  a  fir  .  In  this  he  w/is  only  exercising  busi- 
ness prudence;  he  was  the  pioneer  in  the  occupancy  of  the  country,  his 
money  and  ih'it  of  his  friends  was  invested  in  Ihe  pioneer  industry.  It  was 
expecting  more  than  human  nature  will  warrant  to  expect  that  he  should 
jeopardize  his  own  for  the  interest  of  others.  I  have  always  thought  the 
criticism  which  we  sometimes  h«ar  of  the  stockmen  of  this  State  is  unjust 
and  unfair.  If  criticism  should  be  visited  upon  any  one  for  the  lack  of 
interest  in  this  matter,  it  belongs  to  the  parties  who  would  have  been  ben- 
en'tted  by  our  agricultural  development,  the  dwellers  in  cities  and  towns, 
the  persons  interested  in  industrial  enterprises,  all  those  whose  prosperity 
is  largely  dependent  upon  the  increased  comfort  and  diminished  cost  which 
comes  through  a  home  food  supply.  And  in  speaking  of  this  matter  it  is 
not  with  any  purpose  of  criticising  any  interest  but  simply  to  explain  the 
reason  of  our  present  agricultural  condition. 

With  w>  one  providing  for  his  coming  and  with  all  classes  and  condi- 
tions indifferent  as  to  whether  he  came  or  staid  away  it  is  not  surprising 
that  the  number  of  farmers  is  few.  With  the  majority  of  the  ditches  owned 
by  men  who  are  not  farmers  and  who  regard  both  ditches  and  irrigated  land 
as  a  side  issue  to  some  other  business  it  is  not  surprising  that  a  large  per- 
centage of  the  land  under  ditches  is  unproductive.  Growing  out  of  this 


development  we  have,  however,  to  face  these  facts:  the  locutions  where 
ditches  can  be  built  cheaply  in  this  State  have  practically  all  been  utilized; 
a  large  part  of  the  land  under  th*se  ditches  is  no\v  unused;  a  considerable 
portion  of  this  unused  land  is  valuable  as  farming  land,  but  because  of  a 
prejudice  against  farmers,  because  of  a  disbelief  in  the  success  of  farming  in 
this  State,  the  owners  of  this  land  are  reluctant  to  dispose  of  it  to  actual 
cultivators.  This  is  unfortunate  in  two  particulars.  The  land  as  now 
held  is  unprofitable  to  its  owners.  Its  ownership  by  individuals  has  with- 
drawn it  from  settlement  and  occupancy  by  those  who  might  use  it  to  a 
better  advantage.  I  am  in  hopes,  however,  that  we  are  to  soon  see  a  marked 
improvement  in  this  direction  and  I  look  for  much  good  to  result  from  the 
occupancy  of  the  land  at  Wheatland  by  small  farmers. 

AGRICULTURAL  POSSIBILITIES   OF  THE   STATE. 

But  when  all  the  farming  laud  now  under  ditches  has  been  brought 
under  cultivation  we  will  only  have  fairly  begun  our  agricultural  develop- 
ment. More  water  runs  to  waste  in  the  North  Platte  river  eack  year  than 
is  carried  in  all  the  ditches  in  the  State.  More  water  runs  to  waste  in  the 
Green  river  than  is  used  in  irrigation.  More  water  runs  to  waste  in  the 
Big  Horn  than  in  the  Platte  and  Greeu  combined.  The  lands  which  these 
streams  would  water  are  among  the  best  in  the  State;  the  conditions  of 
farm  life  superior  to  that  now  prevailing,  except  in  a  few  favored  localities. 
The  ditches  to  be  built  must  be  large,  the  tracts  of  land  to  be  reclaimed 
extensive.  Business  and  social  institutions  which  require  the  cooperation 
of  a  large  number  of  people  could  be  established;  the  most  objectionable 
feature  of  ranch  life,  its  isolation,  overcome. 

To  make  these  lands  available,  the  canals  to  water  them  must  first  be 
built.  Settlers  can  not  occupy  the  lands  until  th  y  can  be  irrigated.  They 
can  not  buiid  the  ditches  because  the  expentiture  of  both  time  and  money 
which  this  involves  is  beyond  their  tneans.  Surveys  and  estimates  for 
canals  from  the  North  Platte  fixes  the  cost  of  one  at  $110,000,  another  at 
$250,000,  another  at  $2,000,000.  The  canal  to  water  the  platean  lauds  on 
Green  river  will  cost  nearly  two  millions.  It  will  require  an  outlay  of  a 
million  dollars  to  water  the  lands  north  of  the  gtinkingwater  and  half  as 
much  to  reclaim  the  lands  along  tb9  Big  Hora.  "We  have  reached  a  point 
where  there  is  little  irrigable  public  laud  for  settlers  outside  the  valleys  of 
these  streams.  We  can  not  invite  immigration  here  until  in  some  way  the 
money  required  to  build  caunls  is  provided. 

Since  our  admission  to  statehood  a  continuous  effort  has  been  made  to 
enlist  capital  in  tMs  work.  The  obstacle  which  has,  in  every  case,  proved 
insurmountable  is  the  unsatisfactory  nature  of  our  land  laws.  The  objec- 
tionable features  of  these  laws  can  be  explained  by  giving  the  experience 
of  one  of  the  companies  which  endeavored  to  secure  aid  in  the  East. 

Between  Douglas  and  Fort  Fetterman  is  a  tract  of  13,000  acres  of 
superior  land.  Some  spirited  public  citizens  of  Douglas  thinking  to  put 
an  end  to  their  annual  contribution  of  $60,000  to  Nebraska,  subscribed  the 
money  necessary  to  secure  an  estimate  of  the  cost  of  a  canal  to  water  this 
laud.  The  estimate  was  $110,000,  or  about  $10  an  acre.  So  far  as  natural 
conditions  go,  with  the  exception  of  expense,  no  more  favorable  location 
for  a  ditch  project  could  be  found.  The  land  is  fertile,  the  water  supply 


6 

abundant,  the  elevation  satisfactory  and  there  is  a  local  market  with  good 
prices  for  all  that  could  be  produced. 

The  land  is  worth  nothing  without  water,  bnt  if  the  experience  of  other 
localities  can  be  taken  as  a  guide,  the  possession  of  a  water  supply  will 
make  it  worth  $15  or  $20  an  acre.  Parties  approached  were  willing  to 
provide  the  needed  amount  provided  the  land  could  be  made  security,  but 
when  it  was  explained  that  it  was  public  land,  that  there  were  no  settlers 
and  could  h<*  none  until  the  ditch  was  assured,  the  question  was  raised  as 
to  what  inducement  there  was  to  an  investor  to  make  an  improvement  of 
$10  an  acre  on  government  land  when  he  had  no  means  of  securing  the 
land,  no  means  of  determining  whether  the  land  would  be  occupied  by  a 
person  willing  to  pay  for  that  improvement,  or,  if  willing,  whether  he  would 
be  able  to  pay  for  it. 

The  party  whose  aid  was  solicited  then  asked  if  the  promoters  of  the 
enterprise  would  be  willing  to  furnish  an  independent  and  adequate  gaur- 
anty  that  the  settlers  who  filed  on  the  land  would  either  become  part 
owners  in  the  canal  or  purchasers  of  water  for  their  land  at  a  price  to  repay 
the  money  expended  on  the  canal.  This  could  not  be  done.  Leaving  out 
of  consideration  the  speculative  filings,  made  simply  to  secure  the  advance 
in  values  due  to  the  construction  of  the  canal  and  the  improvement  of 
adjacent  lands,  it  WHS  certain  that  only  a  small  number  of  the  settlers  could 
pay  $10  an  acre  for  the  water  supply  for  160  acres,  but  that  all  would  be 
disposed  to  file  on  160  acres,  because  there  would  be  no  material  increase 
in  cost  over  filing  on  a  lesser  area.  The  result  was  too  apparent,  there 
would  have  been  fir^t  speculative  filings  on  a  portion  of  the  land  by  men 
who  were  not  farmers,  but  who  would  avail  themselves  of  the  opportunity 
to  secure  a  share  ju  the  increase  of  value.  Second,  filing  on  160  acres  by 
farmers  able  to  provide  water  for  and  to  cultivate  one-fourth  or  one-half 
that  area.  Under  favorable  conditions,  it  was  certain  that  fully  half  the 
land  must  remain  idle  and  unproductive  for  an  indefinite  period,  and  the 
chances  for  the  investment  proving  safe  or  lucrative  not  one  in  a  million. 

The  objections  raised  in  this  case  are  the  objections  which  have  been 
raised  in  every  case.  We  have  here  natural  conditions  which  require  that 
canals  shall  be  built  in  advance  of  settlement.  We  have  laud  laws  which 
permit  of  settlement  of  the  lauds  to  be  benefitted  under  terms  which  amount 
to  virtual  confiscation  of  the  sums  spent  in  their  improvement.  So  long  as 
these  laws  remain  in  force  it  is  not  reasonable  to  expect  that  we  will  secure 
any  material  assistance  from  the  outside  world. 

There  was  a  time  when  money  could  be  secured  to  construct  ditches  to 
water  public  land  jnst  as  there  was  a  time  when  any  prospect  hole  in  the 
mountains  could  be  sold  as  a  mine,  but  the  results  following  both  invest- 
ments have  been  of  the  same  character.  Fully  ninety  per  cent  of  all  the 
ditches  built  to  water  public  laud  have  proven  financial  disasters  to  their 
owners  and  this  fact  is  now  generally  understood. 

The  obstacles  which  the  present  land  laws  present  aie  aggravated  in 
our  case  by  the  fact  that  we  are  not  able  in  any  way  to  circumvent  them. 
We  have  not,  as  have  other  States,  any  adventitious  aids.  We  have  not,  as 
has  Colorado,  a  State  land  law  which  permits  of  this  donation  being  used 
as  an  aid  to  development.  The  conditions  attached  to  the  donation  to  this 
State,  which  fixes  the  minimum  selling  price  of  these  lands  at  $10  an  acre, 


prevents  their  being  used  for  any  such  purpose  and  renders  our  last  condi- 
tion worse  than  the  first.  We  have  not,  or  has  Montana,  a  railroad  grant 
extending  along  our  most  desirable  streams.  We  have  not,  as  has  New 
Mexico,  Arizona  and  California,  Spanish  laud  grants  whose  possession  by 
private  individuals  opens  a  field  for  private  enterprises.  We  have  not,  as 
has  Nebraska,  been  able  to  invite  settlers  by  a  rain  belt  delusion  and  thus 
secure  the  private  ownership  of  the  lands  to  be  reclaimed.  Because  Wyo- 
ming is  unable  to  evade  the  provisions  of  the  public  land  laws  her  people 
can  not  secure  any  aid  from  the  coffers  of  capital. 

.While  we  furnish  an  engineer  to  Anz«na  to  expend  a  million  dollars  of 
eastern  capital  in  the  reclamation  of  a  Spanish  land  grant,  while  we  provide 
the  Superintendent  of  this  water  division  to  old  Mexico  to  expend  a  large 
sum  in  the  improvement  of  another  laud  grant,  we  are  compelled  to  see  our 
own  resources  undeveloped,  our  people  look  elsewhere  for  employment,  our 
business  enterprises  come  to  naught  and  all  because  of  laud  laws  which 
have  no  reason  or  justification  for  their  existence. 

The  homestead  law  as  applied  to  the  region  for -which  it  was  framed 
was  a  beneficent  institution.  As  applied  to  a  region  entirely  different  it  is 
an  obstruction  to  progress,  the  most  effective  barrier  to  securing  kornes  for 
the  very  class  it  was  designed  to  protect.  The  principle  of  the  homestead 
law  must  be  preserved,  but  it  must  be  a  homestead  law  suited  to  the  arid 
region.  The  present  homestead  law,  instead  of  being  a  means  of  keeping 
homes  for  settlers,  is  a  means  of  keeping  homes  from  settlers.  The  desert 
law  offers  no  aid  whutevei  in  the  diversion  of  our  great  rivers.  The  acreage 
is  too  small  for  the  purposes  of  the  dit  sh  builder;  it  is  too  great  for  the  pur- 
poses of  the  settler.  There  is  not  o  le  immigrant  ia  ten  thousand  who 
•comes  to  this  country  to  find  a  home.wao  has  the  means  to  reclaim  and  cul- 
tivate 320  acres  of  land  under  irrigation. 

Because  the  homestead  law  was  a  beneficent  institution  elsewhere,  there 
is  a  popular  distrust  and  a  popular  prejudice  against  any  complaint  of  its 
operation  here,  but  this  distrust  is  due  to  lack  of  investigation  of  the  ques- 
tion. It  is  simply  because  the  matter  has  not  been  studied  that  the  domain 
of  its  operation  has  been  extended.  What  I  wish,  and  what  we  must  have, 
is  a  law  which  will  furnish  adequate  security  for  the  money  spent  in  the 
reclamation  of  these  lands,  and  to  do  this  we  must  have  a  law  which  will 
prevent  speculative  or  excessive  filings,  which  will  limit  the  filings  on  land 
under  ditches  to  the  area,  which  a  settler  cau  cultivate  and  which  he  can 
provide  water  for. 

I  can  see  no  injustice,  I  can  see  no  hardship  in  making  the  laud  a  basis 
of  credit  for  the  money  which  reclaims  it.  I  can  see  no  hardship  to  the 
settler  who  occupies  that  land  in  requiring  as  an  absolute  condition  that  he 
shall  pay  for  the  expenses  thus  incurred.  I  can  see  no  wrong  or  injustice 
in  permitting  the  party  expending  monoy  to  reclaim  this  land  becoming  the 
owner  of  it  if,  after  a  reasonable  time,  settlers  can  not  be  found  to  occupy 
it.  A  homestead  law  which  would  provide  such  conditions  would  furnish 
all  the  incentive  required,  all  the  security  required  for  the  reclamation  of 
our  arable  lands.  But  until  we  have  some  such  law,  until  public  sentiment, 
becomes  awakened  to  this  questson,  until  favorable  action  can  be  secured 
from  Congress  the  greatest  resource  of  this  State  will  run  to  waste,  our 
lands  will  lie  idle,  the  cost  of  living  will  be  excessive,  and  worst  of  all  our 


8 
i 

ultimate  use  and  control  of  these  streams  will  be  jeopardised  by  the  estab- 
lishment of  prior  claims  below  us.  The  people  of  this  State  have  expressed 
a  righteous  indignation  at  the  action  of  Colorado  in  diverting  the  Laramie 
river  to  the  injury  of  prior  appropriate rs  in  this  State,  but  there  is  little- 
appreciation  of  the  fact  that  so  far  as  the  Platte  river  is  concerned  the  indi- 
cations are  now  that  the  shoe  will  soon  be  on  the  other  foot. 

In  an  article  entitled  "Wyoming,  the  Second  Pennsylvania;"  in 
Harper's  Magazine  last  year,  the  writer  states  the  people  of  Wyoming 
regard  this  State  as  a  second  Pennsylvania  and  are  justified  in  their  belief 
that  the  stores  of  iron  and  coal  which  the  State  possesses  have  been  the 
foundation  of  great  and  prosperous  commonwealths,  bat  gives  as  his  own 
conclusion,  after  a  survey  of  the  whole  State;  that  the  "State  has  a  greater 
and  surer  asset  in  Wyoming  soil."  It  is  because  I  believe  that  this  is  true,, 
because  I  wish  to  see  the  lands  of  this  State  utilized  as  homes  for  the 
present  generation,  because,  being  a  citizen  of  the  State,  I  wish  to  see  it 
grow  and  prosper,  that  I  have  called  your  attention  to  this  matter  and  hope 
that  your  aid  and  iEflueuce  may  be  directed  to  securing  this  needed  reform. 

THE    REMEDY. 

It  is  one  thing  to  locate  the  disease,  but  a  far  different  matter  to  pre- 
scribe the  remedy.  Especially  is  this  true  of  the  reclamation  of  the 
arid  lands.  Differences  in  climatic  conditions,  differences  in  laws  in 
the  several  arid  states,  has  given  rise  to  diverse  views  as  to  the  proper 
course  to  be  pursued.  Nor  are  the  people  of  any  single  state  agreed. 
The  problem  is  new  and  complex.  Comparatively  few  have  had  the  time 
or  opportunity  to  give  the  necessary  study  and  investigation  to  the  sub- 
ject. Because  of  this,  there  is  a  reluctance  about  endorsing  any  measure 
of  relief. 

In  submitting  my  personal  views  it  is  not  with  any  desire  of  insisting- 
upon  their  being-  accepted.  Should  the  people  of  this  state  favor  some 
different  plan  which  will  reach  the  desired  end,  I  am  ready  to  accept  and 
advocate  it. 

OUTLINE  OF  NEEDED  REFORMS. 

What  we  want  first  is  a  change  in  the  land  laws  which  will  either 
require  tbe  present  holder  of  the  irrigable  public  land  to  reclaim  it  or 
transfer  it  to  some  one  who  will.  Thus  far  the  United  States  has  been 
a  failure  as  an  arid  land  owner  A  landlord  who  pays  no  taxes  and 
makes  no  improvements. 

We  want  land  laws  which  recognize  the  fact  that  all  arid  land  is 
not  irrigable  and  which  will  provide  for  the  management  and  disposal  of 
the  grazing  land  in  connection  with  the  irrigable. 

We  want  land  laws  which  provide  for  the  preservation  of  the  store 
house  of  our  water  supply,  the  mountain  forests. 

We  need  canals  from  our  rivers  but  we  also  need  them  built  under 
conditions  which  will  protect  the  rights  and  insure  the  prosperity  of 
those  who  are  to  use  them.  There  is  only  one  way  to  do  this,  the  land 
and  water  must  go  together;  the  owners  of  the  land  must  also  own  the- 
ditch  which  makes  the  land  productive. 

We  want  no  canal  companies  carrying  water  for  hire.. 


We  want  no  such  vassalage  as  divided  control  of  land  and  water 
creates. 

PROTECTION    OF    APPROPRIATORS. 

We  need  a  system  which  will  enable  us  to  more  effectively  protect 
the  rights  of  appropriators  on  small  streams;  which  will  prevent  the  over 
appropriation  and  the  wrongful  diversion  and  use  of  their  waters.  This 
cannot  be  done  now  because  the  authorities  in  charge  of  the  public  land 
give  no  attention  whatever  to  the  require  mentsof  our  irrigation  system. 
It  accomplishes  nothing  for  the  State  to  refuse  "Permits"  to  appropriate 
water  so  long  as  the  United  States  grants  filings  along  streams  which 
permit  of  the  unrestricted  construction  of  ditches  to  divert  the  waters  of 
those  streams.  Crow  Creek  is  a  fair  illustration  of  the  results  of  this 
system.  Eighty  ditches  have  been  built  to  divert  its  water  supply  when 
the  stream  will  not  fill  one-fourth  of  that  number.  Twenty-eight  of 
these  ditches  have  never  complied  with  the  provisions  of  the  irrigation 
law,  yet  they  each  year  rob  those  entitled  to  the  use  of  the  water  and 
subject  the  taxpayers  of  the  county  to  a  heavy  expense  in  the  attempt  to- 
regulate  them. 

LOCATION    OP    IRRIGATION    WORKS. 

We  need  a  system  which  will  secure  the  construction  of  irrigation* 
works  according  to  some  prearranged  plan  and  which  will  assist  in  secur- 
ing the  co-operation  of  the  parties  constructing  them.  So  long  as  there 
is  a  divided  control  of  land  and  water  all  attempts  at  securing  co-opera- 
tion on  the  parD  of  immigrants  will  be  futile.  We  have  already  had  suffi- 
cient experience  to  show  that  a  haphazard  and  unrestricted  diversion  of 
water  is  not  only  wasteful  and  expensive,  but  in  addition  it  makes  the 
adequate  protection  of  priorities  impossible.  Yet  we  are  unable  to  profit 
by  this  lesson.  The  last  diversions  are  of  the  same  character  as  the  first, 
I  have  already  referred  to  Crow  Creek,  one  of  the  first  streams  utilized. 
One  of  the  last  is  the  Grey  Bull  river,  the  valley  of  which  has  beenr 
largely  reclaimed  in  the  past  two  vears.  Under  a  prearranged  plan  halt 
a  dozen  ditches  would  have  reclaimed  the  entire  area.  Instead  of  these, 
permits  have  bee-n  issued  for  fifty  individual  ditches.  Controversies 
have  already  arisen  between  ditch  owners.  Petitions  have  already  been 
received  for  the  abandonment  of  some  of  these  ditches  and  the  transfer 
of  the  appropriations  to  others.  The  construction  of  useless  ditches 
involves  an  enormous  waste  of  water,  imposes  unnecessary  hardship  and 
expense  upon  the  settler,  and  is  laying  the  foundation  for  future  litigation 
which  is  unpleasant  to  contemplate.  The  fault  for  this  is  not  with  the 
people  who  are  endeavoring,  under  most  adverse  cond.tions,  to  reclaim 
that  section.  It  is  with  those  in  authority,  in  failing  to  provide  an  intel- 
ligent system  for  such  reclamation.  If  the  plans  for  the  ditches  from 
that  stream  had  been  prepared  beforehand,  the  settlers  occupying  those 
lands  would  have  only  too  gladly  co-operated  in  their  construction,  and 
the  result  would  have  been  a  model  irrigation  system,  which  would  have 
cost  the  settlers  less,  would  have  removed  all  danger  of  future  litigationr 
lessened  the  expense  of  taxpayers  for  supervision  and  would  have 
resulted  in  no  possible  injury  to  any  individual  or  interest. 

LAND  AND   WATER  UNDER  ONE  CONTROL. 

To  remedy  these  defects  one  condition  is  absolutely  essential,  the 


10 

land  and  water  must  be  under  one  control,  and  that  control  must  be 
-exercised  in  the  location  of  ditches  as  well  as  in  the  division  of  water 
between  ditches.  The  present  haphazard  method  of  constructing1  irri- 
gating works  is  the  exact  counterpart  of  the  primitive  methods  of  dispos- 
ing of  land  in  the  early  history  of  this  country  when  each  settler  went 
into  the  woods  and  ""blazed"  out  his  domain  in  any  direction  and  to  any 
extent  which  inclination  or  interest  might  dictate.  The  long  continued 
and  disastrous  litigation  which  this  entailed  upon  the  southern  States  is 
•certain  to  have  its  counterpart  in  water  controversies  if  we  do  not  take 
adequate  measures  to  secure  a  reform  in  present  method-. 

PROPOSED  METHODS  OF  RECLAIMING  ARID  LANDS. 

Four  plans  for  securing-  the  reclamation  of  the  arid  lands  are  now 
prominently  before  the  country.  Two  of  these  plans  provide  for  the 
exercise  of  jurisdiction  and  control  over  the  work  by  the  authorities  of 
the  National  government.  Two  provide  for  the  exercise  of  such  control 
by  the  authorities  of  the  several  State  governments.  The  plans  proposed 
ior  the  prosecution  of  this  work  by  the  National  government  are:  First, 
the  building  of  ditches  by  direct  appropriations  from  the  treasury  of  the 
United  States,  the  work  to  be  done  according  to  plans  provided  by 
government  officers  and  under  the  supervision  of  such  officers.  The 
second  of  these  plans  provides  for  the  work  being  clone  by  private  parties 
who  are  given  a  lien  upon  the* land  to  be  reclaimed  as  security  for  the 
return  of  the  money  invested  in  their  construction;  but  the  supervision 
of  the  work,  the  control  of  the  land  and  the  control  of  the  water  supplies 
to  be  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  National  government. 

The  plans  which  provide  for  the  prosecution  of  this  work  under  State 
control  are:  Fir>t,  the  preparation  of  plans  and  the  construction  of 
-ditches  by  the  State,  the  money  to  be  provided  by  direct  appropriations 
from  the  treasury  or  by  the  sale  oT  bonds.  Second,  the  construction  of 
ditches  and  canal-  by  private  enterprise  under  plans  prepared  by,  or 
accepted  by  the  State  authorities,  the  parties  constructing  the  canals  to 
be  secured  by  a  lien  on  the  land  to  be  reclaimed. 

All  of  these  plans  agree  in  two  particulars.  First,  that  the  object 
of  this  reclamation  is  to- provide  homes  for  settlers,  that  the  land  must 
be  disposed  of  in  small  trac's  to  settlers  who  are  to  be  cultivators  of*  the 
soil  and  users  of  water.  Second,  that  the  expense  of  such  reclamation 
is  to  be  borne  by  the  parties  who  receive  the  benefit,  that  is,  the  settlers 
who  occupy  the  land  reclaimed.  If  either  the  State  or  national  govern- 
ment provides  the  money  from  its  treasury,  or  from  the  sale  of  bonds,  it 
•does  so  with  the  expectation  and  understanding  that  the  money  is  to  be 
returned  from  the  sale  of  the  land  and  the  improvements  placed  thereon 
by  the  expenditure  of  this  money.  If  private  parties  furnish  the  money 
for  the  construction  of  these  works  they  expect  to  either  receive  their 
•compensation  from  the  sale  of  the  lands  and  improvements,  by  the  State 
or  national  government  to  settlers,  or  through  the  sale  themselves  of  the 
land  and  ditches,  to  settlers. 

Another  plan  for  the  carrying  out  of  this  work  by  congress  has  been 
sometimes  discussed  and  advocated  by  the  press  of  this  region.  It  is  that 
congress  should  make  absolute  appropriations  or  donations  for  the  con- 
struction of  ditches  exactly  as  it  makes  appropriations  for  the  improve- 


11 

"merit  of  rivers  anil  harbors.  I  have  not  included  this  as  among  the  plans 
before  the  country  because  such  plan  has  never  been  advocated  in 
congress;  because  I  am  told  by  some  of  the  best  lawyers  in  this  State  that 
•congress  would  have  no  constitutional  right  to  make  such  appropriations, 
and  because  it  would  meet  with  the  unanimous  opposition  of  other  sec- 
tions of  the  country. 

STATE  SUPERVISION  FAVORED. 

WhPther  this  matter  be  considered  from  the  standpoint  of  local 
interest  or  from  the  standpoint  of  the  best  interests  of  the  whole  arid 
region,  I  am  in  favor  of  either  of  the  two  plans  for  prosecuting  the  work 
under  State  control,  rather  than  either  of  the  two  plans  for  prosecuting 
the  work  under  national  control.  As  regards  the  two  plan5*  for  prose- 
cuting the  work  under  national  control;  I  am  opposed  to  the  first  because 
I  wish  to  see  some  results  accomplished  in  the  lifetime  of  this  generation. 
I  do  not  think  there  is  any  hope  of  doing  this  if  we  .are  to  depend  upon 
appropriations  from  the  national  treasury.  I  am  opposed  to  it  because 
any  one  who  has  had  any  acquaintance  with  *he  methods  pursued  in  the 
construction  of  national  public  works  knows  that  they  are  far  more 
dilatory,  far  more  expensive,  than  is  the  case  in  the  prosecution  of  similar 
work  by  either  State  or  private  authorities. 

NATIONAL    INTERFERENCE      WITH    EXISTING    RIGHTS. 

I  am  opposed  to  both  of  the  plans  for  prosecuting  this  work  under 
national  control  because  it  involves  the  surrender  of  the  control  of  our 
streams  to  those  authorities;  because  it  revolutionizes  the  irrigation 
system  already  established  in  this  State.  Whenever  the  United  States 
begins  the  building  of  ditches,  an  immediate  conflict  between  the  rights 
•of  appropriations  under  the  State  law  and  appropriations  under  the 
ditches  built  by  the  national  government  will  ensue,  the  result  of  which 
will  be  the  jeopardizing  of  every  appropriation  made  at  the  present  time. 

I  do  not  look  upon  any  movement  which  contemplates,  or  which 
threatens  this  with  the  slightest  degree  of  favor.  The  pioneers  of  irriga- 
tion in  this  State  have  already  expended  over  ten  million  dollars  in  the 
construction  of  ditches  and  the  reclaiming  of  lands.  Through  the 
negligence  of  the  United  States  to  render  them  any  aid  or  assistance, 
they  have  done  this  work  under  the  most  adverse  conditions;  they  have 
done  it  in  accordance  with  a  system  of  water  laws  of  Ibeir  own  creation, 
a  system  of  laws  which  they  understand,  which  make  their  rights  the 
prior  claims  upon  the  waters  of  the  streams,  and  which  secures  their 
rights  and  claims  against  all  possible  encroachments  from  the  diversion 
•of  these  streams  by  any  agercies  under  control  of  the  State  hereafter.  I 
believe  that  any  surrender  of  the  guarantees  which  the  State  laws  afford, 
of  the  protection  which  these  prior  water  rights  now  enjoys1,  would  be 
nothing  less  than  a  crime,  and  I  as  fully  believe  that  the  invitation  to 
the  United  States  authorities  to  take  charge  of  this  work,  to  bssume  such 
jurisdiction  over  our  streams,  would  involve  such  a  sur  render. 

SACRIFICE  OF  NATURAL  ADVANTAGES. 

I  am  opposed  to  making  canal  building  a  national  work  because  it 
involves  the  sacrifice  of  our  natural  advantages  and  the  surrender  of  the 
exclusive  control  of  our  water  supply.  Under  such  a  system  political 
influence  instead  of  industrial  needs  would  govern  the  building  of  canals. 


12 

Each  arid  State  would  strive  to  forestall  its  neighbor  in  securing  govern- 
ment aid.  JMtch  building  would  become  a  matter  of  lobbying  and  log 
rolling  instead  of  legitimate  business  enterprise,  and  in  this  contest  Wyo- 
ming would  certainly  suffer. 

Take  the  case  of  the  North  Platte  river;  would  canals  from  that 
stream  be  first  built  in  Nebraska  or  Wyoming?  So  far  as  political  influ- 
ences are  concerned,  the  representation  of  Nebraska  in  congress  is 
greater  than  that  of  Wyoming.  The  land  to  be  reclaimed  in  Nebraska 
has  passed  into  the  hands  of  settlers  and  in  part  from  settlers  to  loan 
companies  through  mortgage  foreclosures.  All  these  parties  would  have 
a  direct  interest  in  securing  the  first  aid  and  in  making  their  rights  the 
prior  claim  on  the  stream.  Their  combined  influence  would  reach  half 
the  representatives  in  congress  and  there  is  no  question  but  that  it  would 
be  far  more  potent  than  the  mute  appeal  of  the  arid,  unoccupied  acres  of 
Wyoming. 

What  is  true  of  tb.e  North  Platte  is  true  of  every  inter-state  stream 
in  this  State.  It  would  be  Wyoming  against  the  tield.  One  State  with 
60.000  people  against  a  half  dozen  State  s  with  a  hundred  times  our  popu- 
lation and  an  infinite  superiority  in  wealth  and  influence. 

The  greatest  possible  diversion  and  use  of  inter-state  streams  in 
Wyoming  will  be  a  benefit  rather  than  an  injury  to  the  States  below  us. . 
Not  half  the  water  can  ever  be  used  in  this  State  and  three-fourths  of  all 
used  will  pass  on  to  the  States  below,  after  it  has  rendered  its  service 
here.  It  will  reach  the  irrigators  in  adjoining  States  at  the  period  of 
least  supply  and  will  be  an  equal  protection  from  the  disasters  of  floods 
or  injury  from  drought.  But  all  those  who  have  talked  with  the  residents 
of  those  regions  know  that  it  is  difficult  to  convince  them  of  these  facts 
and  that  if  we  are  to  adopt  a  system  which  ixakes  it  possible  to  disregard 
them  they  will  very  likely  be  disregarded. 

PRACTICAL  EXPERIENCE  CONFINED  TO  ARID  STATES. 

I  am  opposed  to  the  national  government  being  placed  in  control  of 
this  matter,  because  it  is  naturally  a  concern  of  the  Stale;  because  tho 
best  results  will  come  through  a  system  which  appeals  to  local  pride  and 
enlists  local  enterprise;  and  because  it  is  a  matter  in  which  all  practical 
knowledge,  all  practical  experience,  is  confined  to  the  arid  States.  To 
transfer  the  management  and  control  of  this  question  to  Wishinjjton,  is 
to  transfer  it  two  thousand  miles  from  the  States  where  the  work  is  to  be 
performed;  it  is  to  place  it  under  the  control  of  a  body  of  men,  three- 
fourths  of  whom  are  absolutely  ignorant  of  its  fundamental  requirements. 

In  an  able  speech  advocating  the  transfer  of  the  lands  to  the  States, 
before  the  Salt  Lake  Irrigation  congress,  W.  H.  Mills  of  California,  said: 
"The  great  fault  with  the  land  system  of  the  United  States,  is  that  you 
are  attempting-  to  administer  a  domain  actually  more  vast  than  was  ever 
drawn  together  in  one  single,  civil  polity.  *  It  is  the  very  fact 

that  you  cannot  administer  a  land  department  in  one  place  that  would 
make  it  judicious  today  for  the  government  of  the  United  States  to  estab- 
lish land  offices,  with  all  the  power  possessed  by  the  general  land  office 
in  the  various  States.  *  *  *  Ignorance  and  inexperience  have  run 
that  office  continually,  and  you  can  organize  a  land  department  in  every 
State  and  territory  west  of  the  Missouri  river  that  will  take  up  the  lands 


18 

and  attend  to  them  with  a  higher  degree  of  intelligence  and  a  greater 
expedition  than  you  will  ever  accomplish  by  attempting  to  administer 
them  from  Washington." 

I  believe  that  local  experience  will  largely  sustain  that  statement. 
If  we  are  to  disregard  the  unhappy  experience  of  individuals  in  their 
dealings  with  the  land  office  at  Washington  and  consider  only  general 
legislation  there  is  abundant  evidence  that  national  legislation  on  land 
matters  has  either  shown  a  marvelous  ignorance  of  the  arid  region  or 
disregard  of  the  requirements  of  that  region.  The  government  trans- 
ferred the  fertile  lands  of  Kansas  and  Iowa  to  the  settler  who  occupied 
them  upon  the  most  liberal  terms,  but  the  individual  who  wishes  to 
reclaim  the  desert  wastes  of  Wyoming  is  subjected,  under  the  operations 
of  the  desert  law,  to  the  requirement  of  expending,  within  a  limited 
time,  enough  money  to  buy  a  farm  in  many  sections  of  the  fertile  and 
populous  east. 

The  first  attempt  of  the  national  law  makers  to  deal  with  the  irriga- 
tion problem  direct,  was  the  legislation  of  1888,  which  withdrew  all  the 
irrigable  lands  of  the  arid  region  from  settlement  until  such  time  as  the 
government  could  investigate  this  question,  an  investigation  which  those 
in  charge  estimated  would  occupy  fifty  years.  Its  first  law  was  one 
which  had  to  be  absolutely  disregarded,  until  public  stntiment  in  the 
arid  States  could  force  its  repeal.  We  have  the  condition  fixed  by 
congress  which  says  that  no  acre  of  State  land  shall  be  sold  for  less  than 
ten  dollars.  Even  the  wildest  flight  of  imagination  cannot  conceive  how 
the  erudite  statesman  who  framed  that  clause  could  have  believed  that 
unimproved  arid  land  was  worth  any  such  sum.  What  would  have  been 
the  result  to  this  State  if  we  had  not  been  able  to  secure  the  repeal  of  the 
law  of  1888?  It  could  have  been  nothicg  except  to  stop  our  growth. 
What  is  the  effect  of  the  $10  limitation?  Simply  to  prevent  State  lands 
being  made  an  aid  to  growth;  to  make  the  selection  of  irritable  land  by 
he  State  Land  Commission  equivalent  to  withdrawing  it  from  occupancy 
and  development  and  to  make  the  selection  of  grazing  lands  ridiculous. 

VIEWS  OF  MAJ.    POWELL. 

The  transfer  of  the  control  of  the  reclamation  of  our  irrigable  lands 
to  Washington  would  place  it  under  the  control  of  the  Interior  Depart- 
ment. The  representative  of  this  department,  at  the  Los  Angeles  Irri- 
gation Congress  in  October,  1893,  said: 

"There  is  not  enough  water  and  never  can  be;  a  quantity  of  water 
can  never  be  conserved  sufficient  to  irrigate  more  than  one-third  of  the 
land  already  owned  by  private  individuals. 

"Not  one  more  acre  of  land  should  be  granted  to  individuals  for  irri- 
gation purposes.  If  you  irrigate  the  lands  yet  'retraining  :n  the  hands  of 
the  government  you  have  got  to  sacrifice  some  of  the  lands  yet  remaining 
in  the  hands  of  individuals." 

According  to  this,  it  is  the  opinion  of  the  Interior  Department,  or 
the  accredited  representative  of  this  department,  that  no  more  irrigable 
public  land  in  Wyoming  should  pass  into  the  hands  of  the  settler.  The 
result  of  this  policy,  if  carried  out,  would  be  that  the  valley  of  the  Platte 
Tiver  would  remain  an  arid  waste,  while  the  waters  of  that  stream  were 
'used  to  reclaim  the  lands  in  the  hands  of  private  individuals  in  Nebraska. 


14 

It  would  mean  that  the  valley  of  the  Big  Horn  would  remain  a  wilder- 
ness while  the  waters  conserved  upon  the  mountains  of  Wyoming-  and 
gathered  together  in  the  valley  of  that  stream  would  be  used  to  reclaim' 
the  lands  belonging  to  private  individuals  in  western  Dakota. 

In  the  light  of  legislation  of  this  character;  in  the  light  of  opinions  like 
these  held  by  the  authorities  at  Washington;  in  the  light  of  the  hostility  of 
the  agricultural  east  to  the  rapid  development  of  the  agricultural  west,  I 
think  we  ought  carefully  to  consider  before  we  favor  transferring  the  control 
of  our  development  to  Washington  and  to  the  domination  of  such  adverse 
influences. 

REASONS  FOR  FAVORING  STATE  CONTROL. 

1  am  in  favor  of  the  transfer  of  the  control  of  these  lauds  ^ind  the  entire 
solution  of  this  problem  to  the  several  States.  I  am  in  favor  of  it  because 
each  one  of  the  arid  States  has  already  assumed  and  exercised  its  control 
over  the  most  complex  and  difficult  part  cf  this  question,  the  management 
of  the  water  supply.  I  am  in  favor  of  it  because  it  involves  no  disturbance 
of  existing  rights  to  such  water  supply  but  rather  affords  the  State  the 
means  and  opportunity  to  extend  needed  aid  in  the  improvement  of  the 
water  supply,  and  to  render  the  protection  of  existing  rights  more  efficient 
than  is  possible  at  the  present  time.  I  am  in  favor  of  it  because  it  enables 
each  Slate  to  modify  a  general  plan,  which  may  be  prepared  by  congress,  to 
suit  local  conditions.  This  cannot  be  done  under  any  national  system.. 
The  requirements  of  Wyoming  and  California  are  too  diverse  to  be  harmon- 
ized. The  difference  in  climatic  conditions  should  be  recognized  by  a  cor- 
responding difference  in  laws.  The  owner  of  three  hundred  and  twenty 
acres  of  land  in  southern  California  is  a  nabob.  The  productive  value  of 
twenty  acres  is  greater  than  six  hundred  and  forty  acres  in  certain  portions 
of  Wyoming.  If  we  are  to  have  a  national  irrigation  system,  California 
will  urge,  and  properly  from  their  standpoint,  that  the  limit  to  a  homestead, 
should  be  twenty  acres,  so  will  Arizona,  and  if  they  should  succeed  in 
placing  that  limit  upon  the  disposal  of  lands  in  this  State,  then  California 
and  Arizona  uonld  get  all  the  settlers  and  the  condition  of  Wyoming 
would  be  worse  than  it  is  at  present.  One  arid  land  law  will  no  more  meet 
the  requirements  of  this  region,  so  vast  in  extent,  so  diverse  in  conditions,, 
than  will  one  coat  fit  all  men. 

THE     GRAZING    LANDS. 

The  disposal  and  management  of  grazing  binds  is  of  no  consequence 
whatever  in  California;  it  is  oue  of  the  greatest  problems  with  which  this- 
State  has  to  deal.  The  grazing  interert  of  this  State  has  been  the  leading 
interest  and  will  always  continue  to  be  one  of  the  leading  interests,  because 
of  the  high  elevation  of  a  large  part  of  ibis  State,  because  a  l.^rge  part  of 
this  State  i.i  and  will  be  remote  from  markets.  The  water  of  a  large 
number  of  our  streams  can  only  be  profitably  utilized,  the  lands  can  only  be 
profitably  reclaimed,  when  used  in  connection  with  the  grazing  lands 
which  adjoin  them.  The  failure  of  the  present  laud  law  to  recognize  this- 
fact  is  working  great  hardship  to  many  of  the  small  settlers  on  the  streams 
remote  from  markets.  They  can  only  make  their  irrigable  lauds  profitable 
by  using  them  in  connection  with  the  grazing  lands  adjoining.  As  it  is 
now,  they  have  no  means  of  controlling  or  protecting  these  grazing  'ands.. 


15 

and  when  range  herds  of  cattle  or  flocks  of  sheep  invade  them   their  sup- 
port is  destroyed. 

The  laud  commission,  designated  to  select  State  lauds  in  'Wyoming, 
has  received  applications  from  such  settlers,  which  aggregate  over  a  half 
million  acres,  for  the  selection  of  grazing  lauds  adjoining  their  farms,  and 
there  is  no  knowing  what  these aapplications  would  aggregate  if  the  said 
commission  had  not  given  uotice  that  no  further  requests  of  this  kind  would 
be  considered  at  the  present  time.  The  number  of  these  requests  and  the 
statements  made  by  applicants  can  lead  to  but  one  conclusion:  that  the 
need  for  relief  in  this  matter  is  urgent;  that  the  injury  which  is  being 
wrought  from  this  omission  is  serious  and  widespread.  Man}'  of  these 
ranchmen  state  that  their  ability  to  support  themselves  Hud  their  families, 
their  ability  to  remain  citizens  of  this  State,  rests  entirely  upon  some  relief 
being  afforde^;  which  relief  must  give  them  the  opportunity  to  use  and 
control  the  grazing  lands  contiguous  to  their  farms.  Now,  this  question, 
so  full  of  serious  import  to  Wyoming,  is  a  matter  of  no  consequence  to 
California,  of  no  consequence  whatever  to  Kansas,  to  Dakota,  to  Nebraska, 
and  the  only  way  in  which  we  can  expect  it  to  receive  adequate  and  intelli- 
gent treatment  is  by  the  transfer  of  its  management  to  those  who  under- 
stand it  and  have  a  vital  interest  its  proper  solution;  and  that  authority  is 
the  State. 

I  am  in  favor  of  the  transfer  of  ihis  matter  to  the  State,  because  I  be- 
lieve in  that  way  homes  can  be  secured  for  the  homeless  at  less  cost  than 
if  the  work  is  placed  under  the  control  of  the  national  government.  I 
believe  that  ditches  built  by  the  State,  or  by  private  parties  under  the 
supervision  of  the  State,  will  be  better  built,  will  be  built  at  less  cost  than 
if  built  under  the  control  and  supervision  of  the  United  States;  and  if  th& 
settler  is  to  pay  for  this,  the  settler  is  the  one  to  be  beuefitted  by  the  eco- 
nomical procedure. 

I  believe  that  Wyoming,  of  all  the  arid  States,  is  the  last  one  to  look 
with  favor  ou  a  surrender  of  the  control  of  this  matter  to  ihe  national  gov- 
ernment. We  occupy  the  crest  of  this  continent,  we  have  in  our  mountains 
the  greatest  store-house  of  water  in  the  whole  arid  region.  If  the  solution 
of  this  question  is  left  to  us,  if  we  are  given  the  means  to  carry  on  this  recla- 
mation, then  the  extent  of  our  development  will  only  be  limited  by  the 
extent  of  our  opportunities,  Jf  this  matter  'is  transferred  to  the  United 
States  then  our  development  will  not  depend  upon  our  opportunities,  but 
upon  the  influence  of  the  States  below  us. 

The  only  objection  \vhich  I  have  ever  heard  urged  to  the  transfer  of 
the  entire  control  of  this  matter  to  the  State  has  been  the  contention  that 
State  legislatures  are  essentially  dishonest;  that  State  legislatures  can 
not  be  entrusted  with  the  management  of  so  great  a  trust.  I  have  never 
believed  that  that  objection  was  a  valid  one  because  in  the  first  place  it 
is  not  necessary,  it  is  not  desired  that  an  absolute  grant  be  made  from 
the  United  States  to  the  Stale.  All  that  is  desired  is  that  the  grant  be 
made  conditionally;  that  the  State  be  made  a  trustee;  that  the  general 
conditions  under  which  these  lands  are  to  be  administered  and  reclaimed 
be  fixed  by  congress  and  that  on  the  failure  of  any  State  to  comply  with 
those  conditions  that  congress  bj  authorized  to  again  assume  control. 

I  do  not  believe  it,  because  to  admit  that  the  State  authorities  are 


16 

incompetent  to  deal  with  this  question  is  to  admit  that  the  whole  theory 
of  separate  State  governments  is  a  failure.  If  a  State  government  can 
not  be  trusted  to  deal  with  an  essentially  domestic  affair,  an  essentially 
State  affair,  then  it  seems  to  me  that  the  sooner  State  government  is 
abandoned  the  better.  If  we  are  to  entrust  the  management  of  our 
industrial  development  to  congress  because  of  a  fear  and  distrust  of  our 
State  government  then  statehood  is  a  failure  and  State  government  ought 
to  be  abolished.  Personally,  I  believe  that  such  fear  and  distrust  is 
without  adequate  foundation;  that  the  theory  of  State  governments  to 
administer  local  affairs  is  a  correct  theory;  that  State  governments  are 
fitting  and  appropriate  custodians  for  the  control  of  all  such  matters; 
and  that  one  of  the  most  injurious,  one  of  the  most  dangerous  tendencies 
at  the  present  time,  is  the  disposition  to  transfer  all  power,  all  authority, 
all  responsibility,  to  the  national  government. 


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